The AP’s Beverly Wang writes about Joe Biden questioning his rivals pulling out of the CBC Institute/FNC debate…

In a telephone interview Friday, Biden called out fellow Democrats for bowing out of the Sept. 23 Detroit debate co-sponsored by Fox News Channel and the political education and leadership institute of the Congressional Black Caucus.

Democratic candidates have been under pressure to shun the debate from liberal groups who say Fox is biased against Democrats. Biden said Fox’s role in the debate doesn’t matter.

“I agreed to go because my friends in the Black Caucus said this is a very important debate to be able to determine the difference among us on matters relating to the African-American community,” Biden said.

“Wherever the Black Caucus asks me to go, I will go,” he added.

Ohio Rep. Dennis Kucinich is the only other candidate who has agreed to the Fox debate.

MSNBC beat CNN in the prime time Demo. Mad Money beat HLN’s Prime News in Total Viewers and the Demo (Prime News scratched in the Demo).

Cable News Ratings for May 31, 2007

P2+ Total Day
FNC – 714,000 viewers
CNN – 408,000 viewers
MSNBC – 258,000 viewers
CNBC – 206,000 viewers
HLN – 244,000 viewers

P2+ Prime Time
FNC – 1,500,000 viewers
CNN – 675,000 viewers
MSNBC – 446,000 viewers
CNBC – 283,000 viewers
HLN – 400,000 viewers

25-54 Total Day
FNC – 227,000 viewers
CNN – 119,000 viewers
MSNBC – 107,000 viewers
CNBC – 68,000 viewers
HLN – 94,000 viewers

25-54 Prime Time
FNC – 383,000 viewers
CNN – 160,000 viewers
MSNBC – 168,000 viewers
CNBC – 101,000 viewers
HLN – 148,000 viewers

Morning programs P2+ (25-54)
FOX & Friends – 787,000 viewers (335,000)
American Morning –336,000 viewers (102,000)
MSNBC Live (7-9 AM) – 198,000 viewers (90,000)
Robin & Co. –278,000 viewers (90,000)
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Johnny Dollar has the video of a rather heated exchange from today’s Your World between FNC’s Adam Housley and Councilman Charles Barron…

This is bad…but in a good way…

MSNBC announced this morning that it will air the documentary “Mississippi Cold Case” on Saturday, June 9th at 10pm ET…

MSNBC’s “Mississippi Cold Case,” which explores the murders of Charles Moore and Henry Dee, premieres Saturday, June 9th at 10 p.m. ET/PT. The one-hour documentary is the story of one man’s journey to confront the Klansmen who he claims were allegedly involved in the death of his brother and his friend over forty years ago and to seek justice long denied.

On May 2, 1964, Charles Eddie Moore and Henry Hezekiah Dee were brutally tortured and murdered allegedly by members of the Ku Klux Klan in Mississippi. Moore and Dee’s bodies were discovered in the Mississippi River that July during the search for the three civil rights workers in the “Mississippi Burning” case. When it was discovered that the bodies were those of two black men and not those of the civil rights workers – two of whom were white – media interest in the case evaporated. And so it remained until recently.
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Tonight on FNC’s On The Record, Kate and Gerry McCann, the parents of the missing 4 year old Madeleine McCann, will be interviewed by Greta Van Susteren.

Dr. Jack Kavorkian will be appearing Monday on Larry King Live for the full hour at 9pm ET.

The Washington D.C. Examiner’s Yeas & Neas notes that Norah O’Donnell made the cover of this month’s Pregnancy magazine. (via FishbowlDC)

NBC Universal announced yesterday that its networks will be covering the Live Earth concert series on July 7th. Both CNBC and MSNBC will be airing some sort of coverage of the events…

The networks of NBC Universal will come together to air “Live Earth: The Concerts for a Climate in Crisis” an unprecedented global event on July 7. From the producers of “Live 8,” this monumental music event will bring together more than 100 of today’s hottest artists and two billion people to focus the world’s attention on the global climate crisis and what can be done to reduce global warming. The networks of NBC Universal will broadcast nine legendary concerts from the seven continents, all raising awareness of the solutions to the global climate crisis.

“NBC Universal is proud to be the exclusive U.S. broadcaster of this historic television event,” said Jeff Gaspin, President, NBC Universal Cable and Digital Content. “By leveraging all of our properties, we will reach millions of viewers with this important call to action to combat global warming, while offering our audiences an incredible entertainment experience from today’s biggest artists.”

“Live Earth is about engaging a critical mass of people to tackle the climate crisis,” said Kevin Wall, Live Earth founder and producer. “NBC Universal’s sweeping coverage of Live Earth ensures that Americans from coast to coast will be able to tune in to the concerts and take action against the climate crisis.”

Coverage on the networks of NBC Universal is as follows:
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…is in Beta…

Marketwatch’s Jon Friedman profiles CNBC’s Dylan Ratigan…

When you examine Ratigan’s improbable career path, nothing seems impossible. By having enough chutzpah to fill a jumbo jet, the 35-year-old Ratigan already has become CNBC’s unlikeliest star. The last time I saw anyone show that much swagger, it was Vince Vaughn’s character in the movie “Swingers.”
CNBC appreciates Ratigan’s exuberance.

“In cable TV, you have to break through the clutter,” said Susan Krakower, CNBC’s vice president for strategic programming and development. “Personality does break through, and Dylan’s the kind of guy you stop [channel-surfing] for. He’s loud and says things with great passion.”

Ratigan is anything but self-conscious. In April, he played the güiro with Fountains of Wayne on stage at Webster Hall in Manhattan. He once appeared in a movie called “Focus Group,” playing Rich, who was, of all things, an irritable Wall Streeter.

“I don’t see myself as a voice from on high,” said Ratigan, who joined CNBC four years ago. While cable-TV ratings can seem puny, Ratigan is nonetheless making an impact. His show “Fast Money” debuted to 63,000 viewers a year ago, and now has an average of 111,000, according to CNBC.

The LA Times’ Walter Hamilton writes about the story…

The cable channel said it still hoped to announce a winner by July 8 but added that “it is more important to ensure the individual awarded the grand prize is in compliance with the rules.”

Among the finalists, according to a CNBC blog, are an investment manager with an MBA from Stanford University, a radiology resident in Detroit and a retired chemical engineer from Bollingbrook, Ill. The leader going into the final day, according to the site, was Nancy Beaumont, a counseling director at Touro University in Vallejo, Calif. She couldn’t be reached for comment.